Ben-Witch-Hunter by Choice
by WitchHuntressPond
Summary: Ben was desperate to join Hansel and Gretel in the witch hunt, but not just due to admiration. This story shows how Ben ended up being the person he was in the movie. Rated T for later chapters.
1. Introduction

Ben`s father had left him, his mother and his older brother Tom before he had even been born. So it happened that Ben grew up with only his mother and brother as guidance. Nevertheless they were a happy little family, even though they merely scraped by, living in one of the poorer areas of Augsburg.

His mother was a very warm and gentle woman, who cared not only for her two little boys but also helped wherever she could, often without asking something in return. She would, unlike other mothers, never be caught beating her children, because she had experienced what damage this could inflict on them. Although she never talked about it, a scar on her face showed everyone that she had been badly mistreated some time in her life. When her children asked her about it, though, she replied that she had cut herself on a branch while climbing, and, not knowing any better, they believed her.

Tom, who was two years older than Ben was quite a courageous boy who loved getting into all sorts of mischief and adventure. He loved Ben dearly and was excited to be an older brother, and enthusiastically embraced the task of teaching Ben all the things a boy does and does not do. As soon as Ben was old enough Tom would teach him how to climb trees, how to fish and later even how to shoot and fight. They got along very well and barely ever really fought.

Ben loved and admired his brother and always tried hard to impress him, which he generally managed. However, he was not only as courageous and adventurous as his brother, but had also inherited his mother`s caring and helping personality. He loved learning how to handle the household duties from his mother just as much as he liked learning all the boy-stuff from his brother and also helped her caring for their neighbors. Additionally, he was very clever, learning quickly and coming up with ideas for new games or ways to ease the everyday work. Of course, this inventiveness was sometimes used to plan some mischief, too, and on some days his ideas just would not work out, but he never let that get him down. He was determined, although he also could be quite shy at times.

All in all, Ben lived a happy life, without his father, but with a loving mother and a proud brother. No one could have foreseen the tragedy that was soon to come and change the life of this young boy.


	2. A summer's day

It was a mild summer`s day and the streets were full of playing children, only little 8-year-old Ben was not among them. A week ago he had climbed a very high and old tree as a dare. Unfortunately, one of the branches he stepped on broke and he fell to the ground, spraining his ankle. Tom had half-carried him back home, which, luckily, was not too far away. His mother had tended to his ankle immediately but nevertheless he had to stay at home for some weeks. When Ben learned this, it had quite a bad effect on him, as he spent quite a while outside. This time, not even Tom could cheer him up, because, even though Tom pitied his little brother, he was far too restless to stay in the house all day. Every morning Tom would go outside on some adventure and come back in the evening. Ben could not even hold it against him, as he knew that Tom soon would have to start an apprenticeship soon, so it was only natural to him, that he tried to enjoy himself as much as possible now.

This summer day it had been the same. Tom had left, barely having finished his meagre breakfast, eager to throw himself into some adventure with the other boys. Ben had watched his brother leave with a sad look on his face. How he wished that he could go, too. Instead he would listen to his brother`s stories of what he had experienced through the day and try to reduce the boredom in his own day. His mother smiled faintly when she saw her youngest son frowning. He always was so impatient and restless, but she knew the remedy to that frown: Give him something to do. "It will be only two more weeks until you can run off with the boys again. In the meantime you could come over, sit here at the table and help me fold the laundry. That way the day will pass quicker." With a half-hearted smile Ben hobbled over to the table and sat down. Usually he loved helping his mother, but after 2 weeks of confinement in the house he longed for nothing more than fresh air on his face and some fun. His mother entered, carrying a huge pile of laundry. "How can this be all ours?" asked Ben, looking at the pile. This would surely keep him occupied for a while. "Oh, it is not. I washed the Klein`s things, because they just had a new baby and already have more than enough to do with their children." He remembered the Klein family; they lived only two houses away from them and already had five children, additionally to the new baby. He liked the children, especially the eldest boy, who was a year older than him, but was afraid of the father, as he often returned home drunk, yelling at and hitting everyone and everything that dared to cross his way.

Folding the laundry took quite some time and when his mother left to bring it over to the neighbors, Ben reclaimed his old seat at the window and stared outside, dreaming. When he grew up he would not be found learning one of those common jobs. He wanted to travel, to invent things and, in a way, help the people, not only to take their money. He would never settle down and have children; girls were quite stupid, gross and boring anyway. They would play with their dolls and never do anything fun, like climbing or play-fighting. No, he would definitely never marry and never fall in love, either.

When Ben`s mother returned, she found him fast asleep, with his head sunken on his chest. She spread a thin sheet over him and smilingly kissed his head before going out again to get water and start doing the soup for dinner.

Ben woke up, wondering how long he had slept. He looked over to the fireplace where his mother was stirring their food in a pot. "Has Tom come back, yet?" His mother startled. "Hey, had a nice sleep? No, he is not back yet, but he should be any minute." Ben hobbled over to the washing basin to wash his hands before dinner and sat down at the table. "I wonder where Tom is staying… The food is ready, so I suggest we already eat something." Said his mother and filled their bowls, before seating herself at the table with her son. They ate but Tom had not reappeared yet. Ben and his mother both started to worry, so latter decided to go over to the Becker family to see, whether their son, with whom Tom had wanted to go out today, had already returned. Meanwhile, Ben started looking out of the window into the darkening streets, growing more and more restless. He knew what the parents told their children: If they stayed away after dark, witches would come and get them. Of course, he himself had never had an encounter with one, but he also knew that some women, whom he could barely believe to be witches, as they did not look evil in any way, were burned as witches. So, after a while he started wondering, whether witches were real, or whether they were simply a story to scare the children. But how could it be explained then, that children disappeared without any trace sometimes?

Ben's mother returned, even more worried than before. "I was at the Becker`s, Gerd has been back for over an hour, he came back alone, because Tom was nowhere to be seen. He thought he might already have gone home, so he just went alone and did not say anything. His father and some of the other men are going out to look for Tom, maybe he fell and hit his head." Ben could see that this was not what his mother really was worried about, but was too scared to say out loud, what might have happened to his brother: That he had been kidnapped and killed by witches.


	3. A very long night

This night neither Ben nor his mother slept. They were huddled closely together, consoling each other and trying not to think of what might have happened to Tom. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Her face both displaying hope and fear, Ben's mother got up and hurried to the door. It was Mr. Meyer, another neighbor and one of the men from the search-party. He talked for a few minutes in a quiet voice. Ben did not understand what he was saying, but could see his mother nod from time to time. Before he left, Mr. Meyer gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"Tom is dead, am I right, Mama?" Ben asked, trying to suppress the tears that started welling up. The woman turned around, wearing a half-hearted smile, but one could see, that her son had voiced her thoughts. "That is not proved, yet. Mr. Meyer only told me that they were not yet able to find your brother in the dark and that they will continue searching by the break of dawn. So don't give him up yet, honey. ". She came over and held him tight. "Don't worry, Ben, I am sure we will get Tom back. Try to catch some sleep now, so you will be awake to welcome him home." Although he was only 8 years old, he knew that his mother said this more to convince herself than to convince him. Not long after this he fell asleep and every time he woke he found his mother sitting at his bed or pacing the room until he finally woke up and the sun had begun to rise.

The morning dragged along and Ben had reclaimed his seat at the window, just like the day before. He stared outside, so he would see, if there was anyone coming to their house. He thought of his brother, what might have happened to him and what a chance there was he would ever see him again. He was thrown out of his thoughts when there was another knock on the door. His mother hurried to open it and clasped a hand in front of her mouth. Ben did not believe his eyes. There in the doorway stood his brother, looking quite bruised and dirty but alive. In a rush of joy Ben forgot his ankle and tried to run the few steps towards his brother. Of course, this did not work and he fell on the floor.

Their mother closed the door after thanking the men who had brought her eldest son home and locked Tom in a long and tight embrace, before she went off to prepare a bath for him. Tom had plunged into a chair, looking tired. Soon Ben sat by him. "Are you alright? I was so worried, and Mama was too, I thought I would never see you again." Ben blurted out, the tears he had held back during the night, now streaming freely down his cheeks. Tom looked at him, confused. "I… I don't remember. I…I was playing hide and seek with the boys down by the meadow and the next thing I know is that I am waking up in the forest and my head hurts and my knife was gone and then I see Mr. Meyer and some other men nearby, so I called for them. And then they brought me back here." Ben looked alarmed. "So you don't even know how you got there?" Tom shook his head. "No, as I said… I was playing and then I was in the forest." Before Ben could inquire more about what had happened to his brother, his mother called and Tom left to take a bath, leaving Ben to his thoughts again. How did Tom get into the forest, why was he unable to remember anything? Why was his knife missing? He had heard about people forgetting things after hitting their heads hard, but he felt that this was not the answer. Maybe Tom had fought something or someone? Ben decided to keep an eye on his brother for the next few days, to see whether he could realize something unusual about him.


End file.
